Acclaimed director appointed to head arts festival

AN internationally acclaimed director who trained in Moscow was appointed the head of Cork’s Midsummer Festival yesterday.

Director and producer William Galinsky said the festival represented something “incredibly unique,” on the cultural landscape.

“It is a homegrown arts festival which has nurtured groundbreaking work of the highest standard from local artists, as well as increasing its international profile and keeping a popular and magical touch with its audiences,” he said.

Galinsky’s recent work includes a Japanese version of The Winter’s Tale for the Tokyo-based Hayu-Za Theatre which toured Russia, Romania and France, and Season of Migration to the North for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2005 New Work Festival.

In 2006 he was a member of the jury of the Cairo International Festival of Experimental Theatre.